The
Vertical Drop Jump is a Poor Screening Test for ACL Injuries in Female Elite
Soccer and Handball Players
Vertical Drop Jump is a Poor Screening Test for ACL Injuries in Female Elite
Soccer and Handball Players
Krosshaug
T, Steffen K, Kristianslund E, Nilstad A, Mok KM, Myklebust G, Andersen TE, Holme
I, Engebretsen L, & Bahr. Am J Sports Med. 2016; 44: 874-883.
DOI: 10.1177/0363546515625048
T, Steffen K, Kristianslund E, Nilstad A, Mok KM, Myklebust G, Andersen TE, Holme
I, Engebretsen L, & Bahr. Am J Sports Med. 2016; 44: 874-883.
DOI: 10.1177/0363546515625048
Take Home Message: Performance on the vertical drop jump
landing task was not found to be associated with anterior cruciate ligament
injury risk in a group of female handball and soccer athletes.
landing task was not found to be associated with anterior cruciate ligament
injury risk in a group of female handball and soccer athletes.
We
have had quite a few posts on Sports Med
Res surrounding the short- and long-term effects of anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL) injury. However, we still
need to determine how to best identify who may be at risk for ACL injury so
that we can optimize prevention strategies.
Many try to screen athletes with the drop jump landing task, but it
remains unclear whether this test is predictive of subsequent injury. Therefore, this study’s authors aimed to prospectively
evaluate the accuracy of the drop jump landing task in predicting ACL injury. During
preseason screening tests between 2007 to 2014, 710 female handball and soccer
players performed the drop jump landing task off of a 30 cm box. Sixty-seven athletes had a previous history of
ACL injury before baseline testing. The
authors evaluated motion analysis and force plate measures during each
athlete’s vertical drop jump test and focused on five factors: 1) knee valgus
angle at initial contact, 2) peak knee abduction moment, 3) peak knee flexion
angle, 4) peak vertical ground-reaction force, and 5) medial knee displacement.
The authors tested if these 5 measurements were associated with a non-contact
ACL injury. During the study 42 athletes had a noncontact ACL injury, with 12
of the previously injured participants having suffered another ACL injury. Overall, the authors reported that a majority
of the factors were not related with increased ACL injury risk. Only greater medial knee displacement was associated
with an increased ACL injury risk among those who previously injured their ACL. The authors found that this measure lacked
predictability due to its poor combined sensitivity and specificity. Interestingly, there was no side-to-side
differences between injured and uninjured legs in any of the variables of
interest in those that suffered a knee injury.
have had quite a few posts on Sports Med
Res surrounding the short- and long-term effects of anterior cruciate
ligament (ACL) injury. However, we still
need to determine how to best identify who may be at risk for ACL injury so
that we can optimize prevention strategies.
Many try to screen athletes with the drop jump landing task, but it
remains unclear whether this test is predictive of subsequent injury. Therefore, this study’s authors aimed to prospectively
evaluate the accuracy of the drop jump landing task in predicting ACL injury. During
preseason screening tests between 2007 to 2014, 710 female handball and soccer
players performed the drop jump landing task off of a 30 cm box. Sixty-seven athletes had a previous history of
ACL injury before baseline testing. The
authors evaluated motion analysis and force plate measures during each
athlete’s vertical drop jump test and focused on five factors: 1) knee valgus
angle at initial contact, 2) peak knee abduction moment, 3) peak knee flexion
angle, 4) peak vertical ground-reaction force, and 5) medial knee displacement.
The authors tested if these 5 measurements were associated with a non-contact
ACL injury. During the study 42 athletes had a noncontact ACL injury, with 12
of the previously injured participants having suffered another ACL injury. Overall, the authors reported that a majority
of the factors were not related with increased ACL injury risk. Only greater medial knee displacement was associated
with an increased ACL injury risk among those who previously injured their ACL. The authors found that this measure lacked
predictability due to its poor combined sensitivity and specificity. Interestingly, there was no side-to-side
differences between injured and uninjured legs in any of the variables of
interest in those that suffered a knee injury.
The
findings of this study are interesting because these authors found that a
commonly used drop jump landing task is not a good screening tool to predict
ACL injury risk. The strongest risk
factors associated with suffering an ACL injury were a previous ACL injury and
medial knee displacement. This study
followed a large cohort and saw about 50 new knee injuries. The authors noted that this is still a
relatively small number of knee injuries and there are numerous causes of a
knee injury, which may make it hard to predict who will get injured. It would have been interesting if the authors
could have taken annual measurements for individuals in the study to determine
if there were changes as athletes aged, or when they suffered other lower
extremity injuries (e.g., ankle). The
authors analyzed a small cohort (107 players) with a test-retest and found
small changes that were different in 4 of the 5 measurements. However, it might be interesting to see if
these changes affect a person’s injury risk or patient-reported outcomes. The Landing Error Scoring System is based on a
similar task; however, rather than a drop jump landing, participants jump off a
box and out to a distance half of their height.
The authors failed to state the distance associated with the task in
this study, and the distance an athlete jumped out may differentiate these two
screening tools. While motion analysis
has higher sensitivity, it may be interesting to see how these landing error
scores would compare to the motion analysis data in terms of predicting ACL
injury. Ultimately, these authors found that
objective measures from a drop jump landing task has poor predictability, and
we should consider utilizing other screening measures for ACL injury risk.
findings of this study are interesting because these authors found that a
commonly used drop jump landing task is not a good screening tool to predict
ACL injury risk. The strongest risk
factors associated with suffering an ACL injury were a previous ACL injury and
medial knee displacement. This study
followed a large cohort and saw about 50 new knee injuries. The authors noted that this is still a
relatively small number of knee injuries and there are numerous causes of a
knee injury, which may make it hard to predict who will get injured. It would have been interesting if the authors
could have taken annual measurements for individuals in the study to determine
if there were changes as athletes aged, or when they suffered other lower
extremity injuries (e.g., ankle). The
authors analyzed a small cohort (107 players) with a test-retest and found
small changes that were different in 4 of the 5 measurements. However, it might be interesting to see if
these changes affect a person’s injury risk or patient-reported outcomes. The Landing Error Scoring System is based on a
similar task; however, rather than a drop jump landing, participants jump off a
box and out to a distance half of their height.
The authors failed to state the distance associated with the task in
this study, and the distance an athlete jumped out may differentiate these two
screening tools. While motion analysis
has higher sensitivity, it may be interesting to see how these landing error
scores would compare to the motion analysis data in terms of predicting ACL
injury. Ultimately, these authors found that
objective measures from a drop jump landing task has poor predictability, and
we should consider utilizing other screening measures for ACL injury risk.
Questions
for Discussion: How do you typically
manage ACL screening within your clinical setting? Are there any other ACL screening tools that
you are interested in learning more about?
for Discussion: How do you typically
manage ACL screening within your clinical setting? Are there any other ACL screening tools that
you are interested in learning more about?
Written
by: Nicole Cattano
by: Nicole Cattano
Reviewed
by: Jeffrey Driban
by: Jeffrey Driban
Related
Posts:
Posts:
Krosshaug, T., Steffen, K., Kristianslund, E., Nilstad, A., Mok, K., Myklebust, G., Andersen, T., Holme, I., Engebretsen, L., & Bahr, R. (2016). The Vertical Drop Jump Is a Poor Screening Test for ACL Injuries in Female Elite Soccer and Handball Players: A Prospective Cohort Study of 710 Athletes The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 44 (4), 874-883 DOI: 10.1177/0363546515625048
Please note that there have been some letters to the editor about this manuscript…
https://ajs.sagepub.com/content/44/6/NP23.full.pdf+html?rss=1
https://ajs.sagepub.com/content/44/6/NP26.1.full.pdf+html?rss=1
https://ajs.sagepub.com/content/44/6/NP26.2.full.pdf+html?rss=1
The authors responded to the letters and all of the letters are publicly available for free.